Mauricio Pochettino hopeful of more finals with Tottenham Hotspur

Mauricio Pochettino is hopeful that the current crop of Tottenham Hotspur players will reach more finals in the future after their 2-0 defeat to Chelsea in the Capital One Cup Final.

The Argentine manager watched goals from John Terry and Diego Costa succumb his side to a loss at a wet Wembley Stadium, meaning their seven-year wait for silverware goes on having won the League Cup back in 2008.

“For many players it was the first final that they have played,” he said.

“I spoke to Harry [Kane] before the game when we were out on the pitch and he told me it was his first time playing at Wembley.

“It shows that we hopefully will have many other finals in the next few years. We have a brilliant future and can take many more positives than negatives from today’s game.”

Chelsea took the lead when Terry fired home from close range after Spurs failed to clear a Willian free-kick, wrapping up the win in the second period as Costa’s effort deflected in off Kyle Walker.

Spurs had their chances and Christian Eriksen watched his free-kick rattle against the crossbar in ninth minute, but it wasn’t to be.

“We were unlucky [that] we conceded the first goal [just before half-time],” he added. “I think we took some risks and they played on the counter-attack, then we conceded the second goal.

“We need to feel proud for our players. I want to congratulate Chelsea but I’m disappointed for us.

“We need to take a lot of positives because we are a very young squad - 23.5 was our average age on the pitch.

“It’s always important to play the finals. You can always improve; I need to do that as a manager and the players should always try to do that too. Today will help towards our development.”

Lifting the Capital One Cup would have been the perfect present for Pochettino, who celebrates his 43rd birthday on Monday.

While he won’t be waking up with the first piece of silverware as a manager in the bag, the former Southampton and Espanyol boss remains upbeat about the future.

“Tomorrow is training. I am never happy on my birthday because I am one year older.

“The challenge now is next game. We need to move forward and forget the final and to recover our legs and minds.

“But we can take a lot from the game because we played our style and kept with our philosophy. We hope to be back very soon.”